Sons of the Storm
by SonofBerenike
Summary: The Great Crusade. A time of glory and heroes, the greatest of them all being the eighteen Primarchs. However, this is not the original Great Crusade. The Second Primarch is found, and he and his legion will leave their mark in the stars. This is the tale of the Emperors Second Space Marine Legion, the Storm Knights.


Sons of the Storm

 **Chapter I**

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 **Ave, hail. I am SonofBerenike, a newcomer to these mysterious lands known as 'Warhammer 40000 Fanfiction', but I am not a newcomer to Warhammer 40000 as a whole.**

 **I have no idea how overused this idea may be, but I don't really care, because I plan on doing it better than anyone else. (Yeah, I'm conceited, get over yourself). Welcome to the tale of the Storm Knights, the Emperors II Legion.**

 **(Note; this is really, REALLY heavily AU.)**

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Dust flitted through the quiet halls of the 'Eye of the Storm', as the Storm Knights prepared for war.

Warriors clad in power armour the colour of storm clouds marched through the halls, the clanging of Ceramite boots the only sound in the somber halls. Their war gear was a dark-grey, with knee guards, elbow guards and the edges of their shoulder guards coloured electric blue. The lenses on their helmets were the same colour, as was the main body of their boltguns.

Most were without much decoration, with the exception of a white 'IV' on their right shoulder, and a badge on their left, crossed yellow lightning bolts over a grey sword, the symbol of the Storm Knights. Smaller figures flitted in between them, clad in robes the same electric blue as their larger counterparts' weaponry. Whether they carried a weapon, a wrapped bundle or sheets of paper, they all acted as though they were in the midst of some important task.

Yes, the Storm Knights were bound for war. A glorious war, another victory for the Emperors glorious Imperium, another world to be brought into its fold. Fourth Captain David watched as his warriors marched to war, and allowed the altogether common sight of a grin grace his otherwise steely features. Another glorious victory in the making.

His attention was drawn to a smaller figure standing nearby. Clad in the same blue robes as the servants below, she nonetheless carried herself with an air of authority. Her hood was down, revealing pale but beautiful features, with hair the golden colour of David's captaincy badge cut short at her shoulders. Her robes were branded with David's symbol of office, the silver shield of the fourth, at the chest.

"Marion." David greeted her, gesturing for her to step closer. "Are your duties done?"

"Indeed, my lord. The remembrancers still hound me for a chance to interview you, however." The woman answered, bowing gracefully. "I must have been approached by a dozen of them in the past hour."

Davids grin didn't fade as he replied. "Tell them I will speak to one of their number when I return from the surface. I wouldn't want them to think I don't care."

"Of course, my lord." Marion replied, bowing again. "Will that be all?"

"Yes. Also, for the hundredth time, just call me David." David said. "This 'My Lord' business sounds a tad bit too vain for my tastes."

"Of course my lor-David." Marion caught herself, blushing slightly before scurrying to the door.

' _What would I do without her?'_ David found himself wondering.

His fellow captains had found it odd when he had taken a woman on as his page, Derrius going so far as to accuse him of lecherous intent. Of course, he had answered in the same good humour he answered all such concerns with.

He had found Marion to be the best for the job. She was organized, efficient and humble enough not to go around bragging about her duties, quite dissimilar to Derrius's own Alsandair, who never failed to remind his fellow servants of his position as page of the Second Captain himself.

All Captains of the Storm Knights took on pages, as had been custom of the knights of Thunderis for thousands of years. It was simply more efficient, especially now that the Imperium was becoming more and more bureaucratic. Warriors like David didn't have time to keep track of a million little details when they had companies of Astartes to lead.

David was snapped from his musings when the sound of Ceramite clad feet trodding upon metal floor echoed through the entrance way to the balcony over the main hanger he stood on. He turned to see Sixth-Captain Kale step onto the same balcony, shadowed by Aleks, his own page. David nodded in recognition.

"David, how go the preparations?" Kale asked, Aleks taking up a position in the shadowed corner.

"They go well, brother. The Fourth will be ready for deployment within the hour. Are your men ready?" David asked.

"Indeed they are. Or, almost, anyways. We will be ready to set off within the hour as well." Kale replied. "Aleks, do you still have the dispatch?"

"Yes, sir." Aleks replied, fumbling in his cloak. "Right here."

David took a moment to take a good look at Kale's page. His first opinion was that Aleks looked rather young. He couldn't have been too far past his twentieth year. This was an anomaly, especially considering most chosen pages of Storm Knight Captains were older. Even Marion was twenty-seven Terran years old.

"Aleks?" David asked.

"Y-yes sir?" The boy replied, his head darting up in a fashion similar to a Thunderian Prairie Dog.

"How old are you?" David asked. No point in being subtle, he supposed.

"Tw-twenty-four years old, sir." Aleks replied. "T-Terran years, that is."

David looked at Kale, who shrugged. "He was shipped in with the Army, as a munitions carrier. I thought he looked a bit too bright for a job like that, so I took him in as a secretary. Then he proved himself more efficient than I presumed, and I promoted him to being my page."

"Ah. I suppose I can't judge, being the only Captain to take on a woman as a page." David admitted.

"He really is quite good at it, even if he gets a bit nervous around other Astartes." Kale said.

Aleks silently handed Kale a folded scroll, sealed with the wax seal of the Imperial Aquila, as well as the Primarchs own badge. Kale gave it to David.

"Personal orders, straight from the Imperial capital and the Sigillite himself, supposedly. The Primarch wanted them to go to you." Kale said. "No idea what they want you to do."

"Marion!" David called, the woman darting through the doorway a few seconds later.

"Yes my lor-David?" Marion asked, hands behind her back and her posture straight. David noticed Alex staring at her, in what he no doubt thought was a subtle fashion.

"Take these to my quarters. I will read them in private." David ordered, handing off the still sealed scroll to Marion.

"Yes, David." Marion said, turning. She caught Aleks in her line of vision, and to both David and the boys surprise, bowed slightly. "Aleks."

"M-Marion." Aleks stuttered, bowing in return.

Marion bowed again to Kale, before setting off at a brisk walk, hiding the blush that had spread across her face with relative difficulty.

 **()**

David's eyebrows rose as he read the letter supposedly directly from the Regent of Terra himself.

 _Tempestor, I will be frank. I am a busy man, and haven't the time to dally with synonyms and wordplay. I need a favour._

 _Please deliver this letter to one of your most reliable officers, and read no further. The fewer people who know of this mission, the better._

 _To whomever it may inquire;_

 _I am Malcador the Sigillite, Lord Regent of Terra, and right hand of the Emperor himself. I trust, Storm Knight, that this letter finds you prepared for war, for that is what this mission will entail. War._

 _The world you are about to go to war over is home to a horde of Orks, but it was not always so. It was once ruled by Humanity, in the Age of Technology. There will be something in the city formerly known as 'Getty's Landing', a bunker beneath the Governors Palace. Within that bunker is an orb, likely glowing blue. You must retrieve this orb intact at all costs, even your very life. If the Orks discover how to use it, it could spell the end of the Imperium._

 _Once you retrieve it, it is imperative you return to your Primarch. He will know what to do from there._

 _Signed, Malcador the Sigillite, Lord Regent of Terra._

The letter had borne the symbol of Malcadors authority, the stylized stamp of the Rod of Terra, and had apparently been delivered by one of the Sigillites most trusted warriors personally. David had no doubts of its genuine status, his worries were more practical.

' _How in the hell am I going to leave the warzone to go treasure hunting?'_ Had been his first question, and one he had not yet found an answer to. He had come up with many other questions, but the first always remained. How would he abandon his men, even if this mission came from Malcador the Sigillite himself?

"David?" David turned to see Marion standing in the doorway, holding a stack of papers. "Sergeant Jonathon wanted you to know the company is ready for deployment, and that the speartip is to deploy soon."

"Thank you, Marion. Could you dispose of this for me?" David asked, handing her the re-folded letter from the Sigillite.

"Yes, David." Marion put the papers down onto the desk and took the letter, tucking it inside her cloak. "Will there be anything else?"

"No." David replied, moving toward the door. "I need to ready the company. Just remember to speak to the Remembrancers."

 **()**

 _The rain was coming._

 _On Thunderis, the rain was always coming, but this was one of those few breaks from the storms, when the Storm-Shields could be lowered and repaired, and people could travel to and fro, at least for a short while._

 _Of course, Joseph wasn't travelling anywhere far. All he was doing was trying to find out what had caused that enormous explosion in the woods the previous night. It had woken he and his wife Miriam right up, as well as his son James. All he knew was that it had been loud, bright, and came from the woods right outside their farm._

 _In his hands was his father's old lasgun, which he had earned in service of the militia. Of course, when he had died, it had been handed down to Joseph, who took care of the trusty weapon at all times. This weapon had killed Kags and Fenriks that had been threatening his herd of Grox, and had kept his family safe for decades. He held the weapon up to his shoulder but kept the barrel pointed to the ground as he moved through the foliage, careful eyes observing the forest around him for the slightest sign of danger._

 _He caught the scent of something on the wind, a faint whiff of smoke, and tried to zero in on the scent. He pressed on through the forest, and eventually came to a clearing that definitely HADN'T existed previously. The foliage around the edges was scorched black, and the grass had been burned. At the centre of the twenty foot wide clearing sat a crater. Joseph raised the rifle and darted into the clearing after scanning it with his eyes, the barrel of the weapon sweeping back and forth._

 _He pointed it into the crater and peered in himself, seeing dirty water obscuring something from sight. He tentatively reached a hand into the puddle, feeling something smooth and cool with his fingertips. He found a good grip on the item and pulled, heaving it partway out of the water and revealing the top of the now visible white pod. The paint was charred from reentry, but it seemed to be in good condition._

 _Joseph paused in wonderment. Had he just found some sort of alien technology? Maybe he could sell it to one of the merchants that travelled through the nearby Nazarin, earn himself some coin! He placed the rifle on the ground next to him and grabbed the pod with both hands, before heaving with all his strength. Mud sucked greedily at the extraterrestrial object in its grasp, but Joseph wouldn't give up and kept pulling, eventually tearing the pod free from its watery prison._

 _It was then Joseph realized the pod had a door on it._

 _He looked at the barely visible hinges on the top of the machine, before searching for a latch of some sorts to open it. Maybe the pod CONTAINED alien technology? Perhaps it was some sort of storage container for valuable minerals or even weaponry?_

 _His fingers brushed against an indentation on the side of the machine, and he reached into it and pulled, feeling the machine resist, before the door opened, a hiss of escaping air and chemicals greeting Joseph. Mist curled up from the pod's open door, but it was what it revealed that interested Joseph._

 _For within the pod lay a human child, looking to be little older than four years. The child was almost glowing, his skin was so bright. The child's eyelids fluttered open, revealing eyes that were such a lively blue it was almost unnatural. Joseph was stunned by this sudden revelation. That was when he heard growling._

 _He turned to see a Fenrik looming over his crouched form, the animal standing almost five feet tall. Joseph yelped and threw himself to the side, hands grasping for the lasgun. He felt the stock within his grip and went to raise the weapon, only for the beast to lash out with a black paw, tearing the lasgun from his grip and knocking him to the ground._

 _The beast loomed over him, jaws open wide, ready to snap down on Joseph's neck and tear it out in a hail of blood and gore…_

 _When an arc of lightning struck the monster, blue electricity dancing over its skin. The crackling energy sent the beast into a seizure, muscle spasms riddling its body as its very mind overloaded. The scent of burnt fur and charred flesh filled the air as the massive creature fell to the ground. Joseph looked up, seeing the child standing with a palm outstretched, in the position so it would have been touching the Fenrik._

 _Blue sparks and arcs of electricity danced between the child's fingers, a look of concentration on the boy's face. The child's eyes were alive with even more energy, almost glowing. Then the eyes shut, the arm dropped and the boy fell to the ground, weakened by the effort it took to produce that much electricity._

 _Joseph hesitantly rose to his feet, watching the child with widened eyes and a dropped jaw. He took a step forwards, then another, and another until he grabbed the boy in his arms, grabbed his rifle and set off at a sprint for his home, where his wife and son would be waiting. He couldn't wait to show them the boy, the child who had just saved his life._

 _In his haste, he forgot all about the pod, and therefore missed the stylized 'II' symbol etched on the door, and the name below it._

' _Tempestor'._

 **()()()()()()()()()()**

 **Hey, so, tell me what you think of the premise, and the beginning. For the record, the little flashback-origin-story things will be happening most chapters, since I want to make this a multi layered narrative. Like a good cake!**

 **(I'm freaking starving right now)**


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